Classic SF Cage Match: Tadich vs. House of Prime Rib

This summer an out-of-towner asked for help deciding between two old-school San Francisco restaurants for his only meal in the city. icecreamstar1 narrowed the list of potential restaurants to House of Prime Rib and Tadich Grill—which is worth the trip for a visitor?

The vote overwhelmingly went to Tadich Grill, which a few reviewers called a quintessentially (and only in) SF experience. A few people offered recommendations on what to order there. Civil Bear suggested “any seafood over the mesquite grill, such as the halibut steak.” Many spoke highly of the signature sand dabs and petrale sole. steve h. lauded Tadich as a “decent late lunch option. I sit at the counter, have a martini, some oysters, and whatever fish my waiter recommends.”

Why the cold shoulder for House of Prime Rib? First, it’s not a good choice for diners who don’t have meat on the brain: The menu allows two options only, prime rib and the fish of the day. sugartoof warns that “the food is often a sloppy, mediocre mess … you can’t be easily put off by browning lettuce or an assembly-line atmosphere. I like the idea of a steakhouse which time forgot, but not at the expense of the meat itself.”